


Flesh & Blood

by this_much_green



Category: Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Angst, Badass Rey, F/M, Jedi Rey, Romance, Sexual Tension, Slow Romance, Space Pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2018-06-07 02:22:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 17,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6781519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/this_much_green/pseuds/this_much_green
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poe arched his eyebrows at her, mouth open in surprise. His dark hair ran over his head in uneven angles, as if he'd been dozing, but not well. Somehow, Rey knew he never slept particularly well.</p><p>"You're still here," he stated, voice gravelly from sleep.</p><p>"For now." Rey paused. "Can I come in? Are you alone?"</p><p>"Wh -- yes, of course. Get outta here, BB-8 -- " Using the edge of his foot, he shoved BB-8 into the hallway with an ungraceful thud. Rey grinned slightly, averting her eyes.</p><p>The door slid shut with a hiss of air.</p><p>- - - - - </p><p>Poe/Rey! Takes place after TFA. Rey teams up with Poe to try to save Finn. Adventure finds them, and an uneven love blossoms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unauthorized Return

  
**Flesh & Blood**  
Chapter One: Unauthorized Return

\----------------------------

\--  
 __  
 __  
 __  
" --is that her? The girl?”

_“That can’t be --!”_

_“She’s supposed to be off with Skywalker-- !”_

Urgent whispers followed the young woman as she sprinted down the narrow corridor of the D’Qar base. Uniformed Resistance pilots and officers streamed past, exchanging confused, alarmed looks as she dodged down a set of stairs. __

_“That wasn’t -- !”_

_"Of course it was, look at her staff! Did the General authorize a return?”_

_“But where’s she going?”_

Skidding to a sudden halt, Rey slammed her palms against the glass--the glass that acted as a partition into the exam room.

Hands pressed her hands to the window, she widened her eyes and exhaled a shaky gasp.

The man in the bed--he looked skeletal. Flesh clung to bone. His bare chest lay still. Eyelids closed. Tubes ran into his nose, mouth, and chest.

This was not the Finn she remembered. 

Tears sparked her eyes as she drank in the sight of her friend. Her very first friend. Perhaps, still, her only one. 

_I never should have left you here,_ Rey thought, squeezing her eyes shut more tightly. She had one friend, and she’d abandoned him. Skywalker could have waited. Finn was near death, and she’d selfishly taken off with Falcon and left him here to die, among near-strangers.

She wouldn’t leave him again, she thought, peeling her hands shakily from the glass. _I’ll stay here until you wake up,_ she vowed. 

_You better bloody wake up,_ she added warningly, taking a sharp step backwards--

\--only to knock against a shoulder that felt as hard as a brick wall. At once she side-stepped like a skittish cat, muttering an apology as she quickly rubbed her eyes with her sleeve.

A broad, saddened grin met her eyes.

“Hey. No harm done.”

The man’s voice was relaxed, but Rey averted her gaze somewhat impolitely and folded her arms, settling back to staring at Finn. She would not be distracted. She’d stay here for days if she had to.

To her discomfort, the man seemed to have a similar notion. Apparently settling in, he leaned against a nearby pillar, slanted sideways as he, too, gazed at the patient. Rey snuck him mistrusting glance: a jungle of dark hair topped his head, and there was something vaguely familiar about the deeply tanned lines in his face. 

She’d met him before, probably. But that meant little. Her time on the D’Qar base had been a haze of shock, a blur of names and faces she could not commit to memory. She’d probably glimpsed this man conversing quickly with General Organa, or wearing a crisp uniform at Solo’s funeral, or sternly regarding a radar screen...

“It’d mean a lot to Finn,” he muttered abruptly, his face reflecting the flashing medical monitors, “knowing you were here.”

Feeling caught, Rey slid her gaze sideways. He did not ask how he knew who she was. Every soul on base knew her name. It was embarrassing at best, mortifying at worst.

But curiosity nudged her: he was here to see Finn too, after all.

“You know him well,” she prompted.

“No,” he sighed, scratching his shadowed jaw. “Not well. But,” his voice was plain, “I owe Finn my life.”

With that, Rey drew her eyebrows together. Owed him her life? But then he must’ve been--

_AR-IIIIEEE!_

A long, joyful screech suddenly filled the hallway. The droid known as BB-8 thudded down the set of stairs, then zoomed straight toward Rey’s legs, a blur of white and orange. In spite of herself, in spite of everything, a heavy, watery laugh tumbled out of her lungs as she dropped into a crouch.

“BB8,” she laughed, as the droid tilted left, then right, then left again, simulating a dance of joy. “It’s good to see you, too. Antenna's still bent, though," she added, her voice softening as she reached with slender fingertips to straighten the droid’s two uneven wires. “There.”

BB-8 supplied her a grateful hum, then swiveled around to face its owner (Poe--that was his name, Rey remembered now. So of course he was here to see Finn).

“No news, eh?” Poe sighed to his droid, who, by the sound of it, had been assigned by his owner to badger the medical staff incessantly for information about Finn. “Just keep me posted,” added Poe, and then he gestured absently toward Rey. “The both of us posted, actually.” 

Poe squinted at her face, suddenly bemused. “Y’know, you landing the Falcon here got the flight crew in a bit of a tizzy.” It was not an insult: in fact, he sounded impressed. “Not that I’m kicking you out, but how long do you plan on staying?”

This was just one of the many, many questions Rey did not know how to answer. 

“Well.” She allowed a flicker of hope into her face. “Until he recovers.” 

A somewhat awkward pause followed. Then, the corner of Poe’s mouth hooked toward a smile. He seemed about to answer, until--

"Commander Dameron?" interrupted smooth, pressing voice, followed by the sound of combat boots importantly meeting the floor. 

The voice belonged to a woman wearing a pine-green uniform, the same color as Poe’s torn cargo pants, though she was dressed much more smartly. Rey guessed she was a deck officer. She held a tablet screen under her arm and bowed a knowing hello at Rey, politely choosing not to ask why she was present, before returning her eyes to her superior ranking officer.

"Sorry to interrupt you here, Poe--I mean, Commander--there's something you should hear. I need you for a meeting. Can you come with me to the war room?"

“You’re going to make me walk all the way to the damn war room?” Poe demanded, but good-naturedly. “Just tell me the news, Kal. But only if it’s the good kind--can’t hear much else at the moment.”

“I’m afraid,” said the woman carefully, directing a fleeting glance at Rey, “that this is classified.”

Rey stood there blankly. But Poe snorted. “And since when I have ever done anything by the book?”

Nonetheless, he sighed in defeat, unfolded his arms, and fell into step with the officer, BB-8 rolling after his heels. Over his shoulder, he offered Rey a lazy salute with two fingers, which was either a hello or a goodbye--she could not be sure. 

As they walked, Rey shifted her gaze between the woman and Poe, and realization seized her. A pull in her chest. A calm, sudden certainty. She was learning to recognize the strength of the Force, though it constantly startled her, even so that she blurted out, _“Wait!_ I’m coming with!” 

Slowing to a curious halt, Poe arched his eyebrows. 

Kal said, “I’m sorry. I wish I could allow you in. I’ll see if I can get clearance from General Organa--"

“No, I’m coming with,” said Rey. "You have intel about helping Finn. That’s what your meeting’s about. You have information about helping and I’m coming with and I am going to hear it.”

_That_ certainly took everyone by surprise. A stunned silence descended over the hallway. Even BB-8 slid to a sharp halt.

It was Poe who recovered first. “Well?” he demanded of Kal. “You’ve got information about helping Finn--is that true?”

Mouth open, Kal finally swallowed her shock. "Yes. It is.”

Poe's brow seized. He looked dumbfounded. Or possibly alarmed. 

But then he said, “Well what the goddamn hell are we waiting for?” and grasped the door handle, gesturing for Rey to follow.


	2. The State of Things

****

Chapter Two: The State of Things

\-------------

White snowflakes danced through the air like confetti. Deeper in the forest, eerie silence descended. The only true sound came from a struggling, gasping pair of lungs, of a man who had to tell himself to breathe.

Pressing his fist into the muddy ground, Kylo Ren heaved his tall frame unsteadily up to his feet with tremendous effort, as if he had the whole Millenium Falcon on his back to carry. His other hand shakily gripped the wound slashing his ribcage, which surged with white-hot, blinding pain. His feet carried him forward two steps, then three, and then his knees buckled beneath him and he dropped onto his side, back into the snow.

Collapsed there, Kylo had a sideways view of the forest now. And here, suddenly, a rough, raw laugh barked out of his throat. A strained, hysterical laugh. 

The girl. The girl had survived. Against all odds, she had made it out. And he --

Blackness tugged at the edges of his mind. His eyes were closing, then opening slowly, and his lips twitched toward a grim smile. 

Through the slits of his eyes, he thought he glimpsed steps approaching. Someone was coming to him.

The rusty rang of blood filled his mouth.

\-------------

“--So, what, we just go find this healer?” Poe was saying, “and she’ll know how to help Finn?”

“That’s correct.” Kal, the deck officer, hesitated. “But it’s not quite that simple.”

“It never is,” Poe sighed agreeably, dropping onto a rusty metal stool and folding his arms.

They occupied an underground war room within the D’Qar base. Screens and lights danced around them, showing maps and charts. Rey stood drumming her fingertips on a counter, desperate to hear more: she knew Finn’s time was running thin.

“Who is this healer?” she demanded. “How do we find her?”

“She’s an old contact of General Organa’s. She doesn’t wish to be found, of course--no one does, given the state of things.”

The state of things. Rey knew what that meant. War was stirring, civilians were dying in masses. No one stuck their head out. Families were escaping to the quietest planets, away from the threats.

“She’s a coward then,” Poe muttered absently, but Kal shook her head.

“Not at all. She’s deeply powerful, been a healer for decades--most likely, she’s in hiding so the First Order doesn’t find her. She’s what we need. You see, Finn’s a special case.”

Kal stepped toward one of the projector screen, tapping it with her finger. An anatomical image of a brain filled the screen. “Look at this. See these dark spots?” 

Rey stepped closer, fixated on the screen.

“He’s been wired,” said Kal softly, “to simply...reject treatment.”

Poe’s mouth unlocked. “The First Order did that to him?” he said quietly.

“When he was born, yes. It’s rather like he has... a self-destruct feature.”

A shadow fell across Rey’s freckled face. 

“That’s sick,” she suddenly snarled, catching everyone, including herself, by surprise. Her hands gripped the edge of the counter. Her knuckles whitened. “They’re still controlling him, even now.”

Kal tapped the screen, making the image disappear.

“I shouldn’t be sharing this with either of you,” she said, now wringing her hands. “I just couldn’t keep it to myself. But please, please be reasonable about whatever it is you do next. We can’t afford to send anyone away from the base, let alone our best pilot -- ”

“She means me,” Poe stage-whispered to Rey, who almost managed a laugh.

“ --and there’s more,” said Kal. “General Organa hasn’t officially authorized this mission yet. So first we’ll bring it to-- ”

“We don’t have time for that, Kal!” said Poe crossly. “ _Finn_ doesn’t have time.”

“You can’t leave the base, Poe! We’re on the brink of--!”

“I’m going,” said Rey at once, standing back. “I’ll find the healer.”

A worried, tense silence filled the room. She knew they were thinking of her Jedi training. Of how she'd abandoned it for this. Then she glimpsed a grin dart across Poe’s lined face. “I knew you were going to say that.”


	3. All Aboard

Thank you for reading! I’m having a lot of fun with this little story. Lots more Poe, Rey, and Finn friendship + romance goodness to come. :-)

If you have a chance, let me know what you think. 

\--TMG

**Chapter Three: All Aboard**

\--------------

The hallways were sleepy and quiet, and dawn had not yet broken when Rey stood up from her cot, grabbed her satchel, expertly strapped her long staff to her back, and strode down the long hallway toward the main hangar.

But first, she had one stop to make.

In the narrow hospital bed, Finn lay unmoving. A breathing device was strapped to his mouth. Monitors beeped feebly around him.

“I’ll be back,” she whispered, her palms pressed to the glass. “I’ll be back with the healer. I promise.” 

Furrowing her brow with a new measure of resolution, she tore away.

The main hangar door was open, allowing a view of the darkened pre-dawn sky. Twilight green mingled against the stars, and Rey was just thinking how different this sky looked than her sky--Jakku’s sky--when a deck officer’s voice made her jump.

“All good for departure, ma’am,” said a young man, and Rey was too taken back to reply. _Ma’am?_ She’d never had a title before, of any sort.

Nodding uncertainly, Rey crested the ramp into the ship. Her ship. In mere minutes, she’d told herself, she’d be free to focus on the task that lay ahead of her. The crowds inside the base--they made her nervous. People made her nervous. Operating alone was her preference. It was all she knew.

Well, perhaps not entirely alone.

“Got the coordinates, R-2?” she called into the ship. She could not see the droid yet, but she heard him beep excitedly from the depths of the vessel as she dropped her satchel in the main corridor of the Falcon on her way toward the bridge. Her captain’s chair awaited her.

The problem was, there was someone sitting in it.

Coming to a sharp, sudden halt, Rey dropped her mouth in shock and instinctively grabbed her staff from her back, whipping it to her side in a flash.

“Whoa!” Seated casually in her chair was none other than Poe, his hands folded casually behind his neck, his ankle propped up on his opposite knee, though he at once held up his palms in surrender and sat forward. “Easy, easy! It’s just me.”

“You--" she began uncertainty, loosening her grip on the staff. Poe offered an apologetic sort of smile.

“You didn’t really think I would sit this out, do you?”

Rey recovered her shock, and now she felt a bristle of anger. “How did you get aboard my ship?”

“Oh? Your ship?” He sounded genuinely curious.

“It was left to me,” she replied fiercely. “How’d you get aboard, what’re you doing?”

“Same as you: finding the healer and bringing her to Finn.”

Rey eyed his face closely, circling around the bridge. It was unnerving to see a stranger in her space.

“I work best alone,” she muttered. Poe nodded.

“I’ve heard that about you,” he mused. Rey wonder just what else he’d heard.

“What about that officer? She said you’re needed here.”

“They can do without me for a few days. It’s Finn that needs my help right now.”

“He’s got _me.”_

“I’m not leaving anything to chance, Rey. Can I call you Rey?” Without waiting for an answer, he leaned forward, bringing his elbows to his knees. His eyes shone earnestly. “Because I told you already: I owe Finn my life. Just like you.”

Glaring straight at him, Rey bit the inside of her cheek. She wanted him gone. 

Nonetheless--

“Fine--but get out of my chair,” she growled, and he half-grinned, stepped away, and obediently dropped into the co-pilot’s seat.

\--------------


	4. Dueling Pilots

 

**Chapter Four: Dueling Pilots**

\--------------

Seated in the co-pilot’s chair, watching wispy white clouds dart past the window as the Falcon lifted from the ground, Poe made a mild, innocent suggestion: “You may want to adjust the dampeners.”

In the captain’s chair, Rey sent him a short, bemused glance. She said, “Well, obviously.”

“Just a thought. Oh, and the B-Valve!” He chuckled. “You sure as hell wouldn’t want to forget about that B-Valve.”

Rey’s right hand moved sideways across the controls. Her left hand grasped the thrust. “I have not forgotten about the B-Valve.”

“Common rookie mistake, that,” said Poe, propping his feet up on the dashboard. There wasn’t many actions he needed to take, with Rey acting as the main captain in their departure, and now he felt himself looking around the maze of switches for things to do, tasks to complete, feeling restless like there was an itch he could not reach. 

“Fuel cell A is low,” he remarked, tilting his head to examine the gauge on the wall. He tapped it with two fingers. “And the pump looks a bit rotted-like. You really should’ve replaced that when we were on base. And, hey, you sure you adjusted the A-valve? From here lookin’ a bit -- ”

The look Rey cut him then was so perfectly cold that he stared, then closed his jaw.

Meanwhile, the Falcon successfully cleared the atmosphere. The scene outside the window changed in a flash: one moment it showed a grid pattern of grass fields; now, the black stretch of space stretched out before them, dotted with miniscule bright stars. 

They were headed to Kadina Space Port to find Finn's healer. 

\------------

An hour passed. And then another. The ship plunged soundlessly through space and Poe found that, as usual, he could not sit still. Rey was elsewhere in the ship, keeping to herself, which he supposed he needed to respect as it was not his boat.

Still, in spite of the severity of the mission, his lingering anxiety for Finn, he could not help but experience some boyish excitement: he was inside the famed Millennium Falcon.

For awhile he scrolled eagerly through the Falcon’s status screens, reading through the old myths and adventures. Then he stood up and began testing the navigation knobs, wishing he had the opportunity to really take this ship through her paces. Finally, feeling fidgety once more, he abandoned the bridge and began exploring the ship, poking through old crates and cabinets and lockers until R-2 beeped in disapproval, trailing his heels.

“Just looking ‘round is all,” he explained, laughing as the irritated droid nudged his calves as he opened a narrow locker in the hallway. “I heard Solo kept the best liquor on--”

But the words dried up in his mouth. This locker did not hold glittering liquor bottles. It contained the most meticulously organized storage of food rations he’d ever seen. This locker wasn’t near the kitchen: this food was meant to be hidden.

Freeze-dried packets formed a neat stack. Bottles of protein sat in a careful line. Cans of broth and beans were labeled by date of expiration. A slip of paper sat in the back of the locker, and Poe reached for it, uneasy but curious. In slanted handwriting was a careful, detailed record--including date and even time of acquisition--of each ration. It was painfully precise: each ounce of food was accounted for. 

This, Poe realized, was the food cache of someone who lived only in poverty. Who feared starvation above all else. Who knew no other way.

Feeling wrong-footed, wishing that he hadn’t found this, Poe replaced the note and quietly closed the locker door.

\------------


	5. Captainship

**Chapter Five: Captainship**

**\---------------------**

The Millenium Falcon was too damn quiet, Poe decided, swinging his feet toward the floor and sitting up from the narrow makeshift bed in the crew deck. This vessel was meant to house a bustling, noisy crew. Instead, it held only himself, a pesky droid, and a strange, quiet woman with more than her fair share of secrets.

Restless, he pulled a wrinkled T-shirt on over the bare plane of his chest and crested the stairs toward the main deck--but he did not make it far before the R-2 unit slid sharply into view, blocking his path, sounding a loud, warning beep.

“Easy, easy,” he said, offering his palms in surrender. Clearly, R-2 did not appreciate that Poe had, albeit accidentally, discovered Rey’s food cache. “It was an accident, alright?” he muttered out of the side of his mouth, and Rey’s voice called curiously from the sitting area.

“What accident?” 

Throwing R-2 an irritated look over his shoulder, Poe walked into view. Rey was seated in the half-moon booth, a tablet screen laying before her. Her elbows were planted on the surface, with one slender hand digging into the folds of her brunette hair. 

“I locked up the nav controls. Fixed it already. No big deal,” he lied easily. Apologetically, he added to her, “Didn’t startle you just now, did I?”

She shook her head. “I felt you coming,” she dismissed, and Poe thought, immediately, intrigued: _the Force._ Without invitation he dropped into the seat across from her, a heap of limbs. “Any news?” he yawned, stretching his arms over his head.

“We're on course to Kadina,” said Rey, turning the tablet screen around for him to see a map. “About 20 hours off, if my math’s right.”

He nodded, scratching his jaw absently. “Kadina’s a hell of a spaceport. You ever been? The nightlife ain’t bad, few decent brew-pubs.”

Rey lifted her eyes. Her forehead wrinkled, and she was staring at him in mild astonishment, as if she couldn’t decide whether or not she was amused by the comment. “No,” she said at last. “I’ve never been.”

“Hard to imagine an ancient wise old healer there, to be honest. What’s her name again?”

“She goes by Corra. I’ve got a list of places she frequents, but from what I can tell she isn’t very forthcoming.”

“We can make her help us,” he stated, after a moment’s pause. “If we have to.” He wondered, certainly not for the first time, about this woman’s power to harness the Force. He wondered what she could make a person do.

But even he knew better than to ask.

“I’m hoping it won’t come to that,” Rey admitted. Her eyes were a soft brown, he noticed for the first time. A burn of worry lingered in her gaze. “But then again,” she muttered, considering, “for Finn, there’s not a lot I wouldn’t do.”

Involuntarily, the edges of his mouth inched back toward a sad smile. “Me either.” A pause settled between them, but not as uncomfortable as before. “Actually, now that you mention it--I was wondering.” A grin flickered around his face, teasing. “You and Finn. You two, ah--?”

Her expressions were so muted that Poe could not easily read her. Finally, she blinked, and scrunched her nose.

“It’s not like that,” she said in surprise. “We’re not--he’s my friend.” She kept her eyes on him, one eyebrow raised in scrutiny, and then she reached for her tablet again. “You know, you ask a lot of questions.”

Poe laughed, once. “You don’t offer many answers.”

“I do have one answer for you, actually,” she said, sitting up straighter. Poe raised his browline at this unexpected transformation: suddenly, she looked rather youthful. Playful.

“Earlier, you asked if you could call me Rey,” she began. She seemed to be holding back a laugh. “And I’ve decided that no. You can’t call me Rey. But you can call me ‘captain.’ Deal?”

Rather importantly she held out her hand to shake and Poe, startled, now barking a sudden laugh, lifted his hand from his lap and reached over to shake it.

“Deal,” he said, “captain,” and then a glowing grin filled her face, broader than the Millenium Falcon. It was her first real smile of the day.

  
\---------------------

A fortunate understanding had settled between them now: they did not need to like one another to get this job done. To help Finn. Still, he remained quietly curious about this enigma; everyone on the base was, and curiosity was in his nature.

What was not in his nature was getting bossed around. He could agree to call her captain; what was harder was appreciating the role.

“You know I’m a commander, right?” he grunted as he sat on the floor of the ship, leaning on his palms, doing nothing but handing Rey tools she requested as she dug through the ship’s wiring under the floor. “Of Black Squadron? General’s right-hand? I did a speed-run in under--”

“Wrench,” was all Rey said, voice muffled, sticking her palm from the grate beneath the floor. “And the cables. The red ones.”

Rolling his eyes, Poe slapped the tools into her hand. Then he heaved a sigh. 10 hours left, he thought.

“So. Back on Jakku, were you mechanic, or--what? What is it?”

Abruptly, Rey shot to her feet and then froze in place. Still holding the bundle of wires, she suddenly went still as a statue. She stared emptily into the middle distance; she seemed to be listening hard for something he could not hear. 

Instinctively, Poe threw a look over his shoulder toward the bridge. The screens lay neutral. No readings. No warnings. Nothing unusual. But clearly, Rey knew something he did not, as she breathed, “We’re being followed.”

  
\---------------------


	6. Pursuit

Thank you all for the kudos & comments! :-) Also, is it true that my story is labeled "finished"...? It's ongoing, obviously, and I fear I may have labelled it incorrectly. I'm very new to this! Regardless, thanks for stopping by! \--TMG. ****

Chapter Six: Pursuit

\-------------------

_We’re being followed._

The moment Rey breathed the words, the wrench dropped from her hand with a _clang_. Then, in a flash, she pulled herself out of the ship floor and sprinted down the corridor to the bridge.

“Get to a gunner bay!” she yelled, and Poe, like he’d been poised for this precise moment his entire life, dropped easily into the weapons corridor and into an open chair.

“Radar shows nothing,” he said, throwing a headset over his ears. He swiveled his chair toward his set of controls, his eyes keenly searching the black blanket of space. “I got nothin’ either. Cloaking device, maybe?”

“Not a cloaking device,” came Rey’s voice in his ear, buzzing through low static. “But pilot is powerful--they’re good at misdirection--”

“Misdirection?” Poe demanded. In his lifetime of expert piloting, he’d never heard of such a tactic. “What the hell does-- _whoa!_ Well here we are!” A flash of silver darted past the window, but it was only a glimpse of a ship, still out of range, employing some rather impressive evasive tactics. “You see that?”

“I see it!” The floor below him gave a generous tilt to the left as Rey pulled the ship upward in a graceful arc. “I’m going back for it!”

“That’s no First Order ship,” Poe said, tilting his head to squint at the opposing ship coming into view: it was small silver transport vessel. If it had any guns, Poe would have been shocked. “At least not when I recognize. But someone sure wants us bad--bounty hunter, maybe? You got any friends in low places, Rey?” he added, knowing the answer.

“A few,” she said back, “hundred.”

With that, a loud, happy laugh barked out of his chest. “Me too. Get me closer, I’ll fire a warning shot to so they know we mean business.”

The Falcon leaned gently left, then more deeply, and then circled widely around the opposing ship. With one hand Poe pulled himself closer to the triggers; with the other, he scrolled through the controls. "Yeah, I know I'm not her," he muttered suddenly under his breath, speaking directly to the Falcon now. "You're gonna have to talk to me for a little while."

“Just a warning shot,” came Rey’s voice in his ear. “Over the wing. Got it?”

“I think I know how to pull a trigger, thank you,” said Poe good-naturedly, both hands on the gunner now. “A-one, and a-two, and--”

His fingers squeezed down on both triggers, eyes narrowed in concentration as the exterior gun below his feet suddenly exploded soundlessly with light: an electric yellow laser blast shot through the vast space of the sky, then skidded perfectly across the opposing ship’s left wing. 

A sizzle, a spark, and then it went as planned: the other ship ducked left, then sank deeply out of sight.

 _“Whew!”_ Poe yelped, tossing down his headset with a satisfied grin. “That scared ‘im off.” He stretched his arms behind his neck happily. “They had no idea what they were dealing with, eh?”

Thinking perhaps he’d now find some liquor to celebrate, Poe pulled himself up the ladder and strode with an arrogant gait toward the bridge.

“Nice flying," he said slyly, "You know, I can see why Finn’s crazy about you. Who do ya think that was, anyway?”

As Rey came into sight, Poe could see how that she was not smiling. Her forehead was scrunched, her expression uneasy. She looked troubled. Or perhaps--guilty.

“I know who it was,” she offered plainly. “It was Luke Skywalker.”

\--


	7. Wayward

Thank you all so much for the support! What a fun community this is! Of course even without your kudos & comments I’d continue this story; I am just having a lot of fun with Poe and Rey. It’s been awhile since I’ve used my imagination in this way! Regardless, thank you all again.

\--TMG

P.S. This is my favorite chapter so far. Hope you like it too.

**Chapter Seven: Wayward**

**\------------------------**

Rey wished she had about six more pairs of eyes to take in all the Kadina Spaceport had to offer. A maze of sleek black corridors and shiny glass floors, the port offered repair shops, trading posts, mechanic garages, food courts, and refueling stations. And, just as Poe had said, a colorful array of nightlife.

Pink neon light danced across Rey’s cheekbones as she descended a tremendous set of stairs into the belly of the port. For someone who lived her entire life aboard a desolate dust bowl, she couldn’t help but enter the entertainment sect feeling somewhat awed.

At her side, Poe was also experiencing shock, but for entirely different reason.

“So you’re telling me,” he was saying in her ear, “that I fired. Willingly. At Luke Skywalker. _The_ Luke Skywalker.”

Rey side-stepped as a scowling, broad-muscled bouncer was literally throwing a pair of Nikto reptiles out of his club by their necks. She tore her eyes away with difficulty. “At least it was only a warning shot?” she guessed, and Poe slapped his forehead.

“A warning shot at _Luke Skywalker!_ The legend! The most powerful Jedi of all time! And _you_ ,” he groaned, weaving through the crowd of people with ease. “You let me do it! You knew it was him all along, didn’t you?”

“You’re attracting attention,” Rey hissed, feeling suddenly tense, like she had a pair of eyes on her neck. “We'll find somewhere quiet to talk and I’ll explain, alright?”

Looking not at all his usual relaxed self, Poe growled, “I’m holding you to that.” 

Although Rey would have liked to find a quiet bench somewhere, Poe shook his head, dismissive. “Let’s just get a drink,” he grunted. “Might as well take advantage of our surroundings. Plus, Kadina has the best smoked whiskey in the system.”

With little idea of what that could mean, Rey nonetheless followed Poe through the crowds toward a bar called, judging by its faded lit sihn _The Wayward_. Luckily, it was decidedly more comfortable than the other clubs. There was no thudding music. No flashing neon lights. Sinking into a sagging leather booth, Rey looked around with renewed interest: species of all kinds drank together, conversing and laughing quietly around tall wooden tables. The oval-shaped bar was covered in wooden decanters, dim lights, and green ivy. 

Actually, she thought with some affection--this bar looked a little bit like the Resistance base. Or like Poe himself.

Pulling her thoughts together, Rey sat up in her seat across from her counterpart.

“Ask me what you need to, but make it quick,” she said briskly. “We need to get to Corra’s shop.”

“Her shop’s not open until tomorrow morning,” Poe countered, and Rey thought: _so you **did** do your research._ “And I’m sure as hell not waking an ancient legendary healer from her slumber when we need her to do us a tremendous and life-risking favor. So.” He knit his brow together, full of amusement and challenge. “I’ve got all the time in the world to ask you questions.”

“Fine.” Rey felt half amused, half annoyed, but only the annoyance showed. “Let’s hear it.”

A grin lit his face. “Well my first question’s an easy one. What’re ya drinking?” He pointed with his thumb toward the bar, halfway off his stool. 

Rey opened her mouth, then closed it again. “I’m not. Drinking. I mean, I haven’t before.”

He dropped back into his seat, startled. “Seriously? Ever? Never met a pilot who wasn’t a hard drinker.”

“Well that’s concerning,” Rey mused. “But no. I don’t drink. At least I don’t think so. I’ve liquor on Jakku before, when it was imported in. It was completely foul.”

“Hmm.” Poe adopted a look of focus. “Stay here.”

He melted toward the bar, and re-appeared with not two, but three full tankards brimming with foam. He slid two in front of Rey, then sat.

“No pressure,” he stated, holding up his palms. “Just if you want to. The one on the left is non-alcoholic if you want to go that route. Anyway, I have more pressing matters to deal with than your sobriety.” He drank deeply from his tankard, his eyes were focused on her face. “Like why the _hell_ you let me shoot at Luke Skywalker.”

At that, Rey almost laughed. “Well, honestly? Because I knew we couldn’t hurt him. He was toying with us, Poe,” she said, and she paused, just briefly, feeling certain this was the first time she’d ever used his name. He seemed to notice, too: his edges of his face softened.

She pressed on, “He wanted to be seen. He wanted a warning shot. The man could bring down this whole spaceport in a second if wanted to using only his own brain.”

Poe blinked slowly, as if recovering from this news. Rey could tell he did not entirely believe her.

“So he’s following you,” he surmised shortly. “Why?”

“To protect me, I suppose. Or send a message. He’s a quiet man, he barely speaks--but he’s completely furious that I left.”

With that, Poe smirked with the corner of his mouth. “You pissed him off?”

“I had to fight him off to even--”

Poe choked loudly on his beer. “You fought him.”

“--he went easy on me,” said Rey at once, truthfully. “But things did get a bit--messy when I left on the Falcon. His anger isn’t easily contained. Now,” she added, shooting him a warning glance, “I’ve already said too much about him. The important thing to know is he thinks it’s unwise that I left to go after Finn.”

Poe frowned, but not out of displeasure. He looked thoughtful.

“He's right; of course it’s unwise,” he muttered. “But you telling me Skywalker hasn't done anything risky for his friends before? Hell, all the things that are really worth doing are ‘unwise.'"

A surprised pause fell between them, and then, suddenly, Rey felt a laugh exhale from her mouth. “Well, I’ll cheers to that,” she admitted, reaching for her one of her drinks.


	8. Finding Corra

Anyone else SO GLAD to this week come to a close?! I'm exhausted... Took me longer than usual to get this chapter together because I just didn't have the time to spare. Anyway, thanks for checking this out, and enjoy!

\--TMG

  
**Chapter Eight: Finding Corra**  
\------------------- 

"Ready to go?" called Rey through the closed metal door, lifting her fist and knocking sharply. It was early morning on the Kadina landing docks (although the darkness of space was ever-present around the spaceport), and Rey had leapt out of bed, ready to find Corra at last.

But there was no answer at the door. Rey knit her brows together, knocking harder. "Poe?"

Thinking that perhaps she heard a painful groan of mercy, Rey turned the handle and opened the door. Pausing on the threshold of the small crews quarters, she was greeted with the sight of a bare-chested man laying sideways in the narrow bed, his thick hair a puffy mess, legs tangled in the sheets.

"Why, oh why," Poe groaned, throwing his arm over his face dramatically, "did you let me drink that much on an empty stomach?"

Rey snorted. "Oh, yes, _clearly_ your fourth drink was all my fault."

"You know what?" he replied, but cheerfully, "You were such an interesting conversationalist that yes, it really was was your fault." He lifted head, his mouth pulled into a broad grin, and all at once, Rey felt a sudden knotting in her chest. 

_Flirting,_ she thought thought with a thud of realization. She was in his bedroom. He was at least half-naked. Their light conversation that had nothing to do with the job at hand. _This_ was flirting. She never recognized these kinds of interactions before until far after the fact. 

Dropping her arms to her sides, Rey suddenly pressed, "Just--hurry up, will you? Finn doesn't have time for your hangover," and then pivoted out of the room, leaving Poe in the bed with his mouth slightly open and his brow arched in confusion.

\-----------------

"We're close," said Poe, consulting a small tablet screen as Rey lingered nearby, her eyes scanning the area keenly: she'd been silently appointed the scout, the look-out, and he, the navigator.Their conversation had been sparse and decidedly business-like since they departed the Falcon. "Right--just this way then," said Poe, tucking the tablet into the back pocket of his trousers before moving into the sea of people.

Rey pushed herself off the wall and followed, trying to dismiss the odd tingle crawling down her spine. As she weaved through the crowd, she clenched her fingers into her palm: for reasons she could not discern, her hand was begging for her lightsaber. (She kept the weapon tucked into her side, as hidden as possible; more than once she sensed Poe glance at it.)

"I don't like this," she felt herself breathe quietly, as Poe stopped short. "Something's not right."

"I agree," said Poe, arching an eyebrow. "Something isn't right. Our friend is dying in the med bay. And the person we need--is in there." He nodded indicatively. "Here we are; Corra's shop."

It was an off-beat, odd little place; while other shops buzzed with activity, with shouting vendors, this store was quiet. Relics and beads decorated the smudged, darkened windows. Rey surveyed the shop's facade and then, subtly, she allowed her eyes to close. 

She could feel Poe watching her sidelong, but she pushed him from her mind's eye. Instead, she went inward--she pulled and pulled her heart and her mind closer to together, but it felt like dragging a fallen tree from a rushing river using only her fingertips. Heavy. Foggy. Impossible.

"Let's go in," she breathed at last, opening her eyes and shoving open the door. A bell tinkled to indicate their entry.

The space was small, cluttered, and dusty, filled with jars and vials. A pharmacy of sorts. Behind the counter stood a young man, currently paging through a thick book. He looked up and greeted them.

"Mornin'," said Poe, smiling at him and sauntering closer, drumming his fingertips on the counter. "We're looking for Corra. I understand she's the best healer on Kadina."

"You're in the right place," said the man politely, closing his notebook, though his expression flickered. "Unfortunately, Corra's off on a trip; she went off t--"

It happened so fast, Rey could do nothing but exhale in shock, slapping her hand over her mouth as she screamed into it. Poe ducked his head, and the dart shot through the window, making glass crash everywhere; then it went straight into the young man's neck. 

His knees buckled, his eyes widened and emptied, and he sank to the floor.

\-----------------


	9. Following Instincts

  
**Chapter Nine: Following Instincts**

\-----------

In the seconds that followed, time froze. No one moved. The young man lay on the floor, as lifeless and limp as a rag doll. His round, empty eyes were on the ceiling. Unblinking. The dart simply sat into his neck like an odd accessory.

With both hands Poe held the counter, fixated with widened, sickened eyes on the victim. 

"--Might not be too late," Poe mustered under his breath, shakily rounding around the counter. He dropped to his knees and pulled the dart from his neck, replacing it with two fingers to check his pulse.

Across the shop, Rey nodded, but weakly--she knew so little about emergency care. She could bandage a bleeding wound just fine, and she knew exactly how much water and food to ration for three days of scavenging in the desert, but medical supplies--well, she'd never had the luxury of those.

"Help him," she half-pleaded, flashing a look toward Poe desperately before she found herself dodging toward the door. "Help me, I'm going after -- "

But Rey had no idea whom she was going after. She had no idea who had shot the shop clerk. All she knew was she was going after them--or she would try.

" _Rey--? WAIT! NO!_ " she heard Poe yell behind her, before she shot through the door and into the screaming, startled crowd. Pulling her light saber from her side, she sprinted into the fray.

\--------

An hour later, Poe paced miles back and forth in front of the Millenium Falcon. One hand knotted into his hair, his other hand swung at his side, and he simply felt like tearing the ship apart in frustration--it was only when the sight of Rey drew into view (she looked a bit scraped up, a bit out of breath, but nothing dire).

Dropping his hand, Poe eyed her in shock, flooded with both relief and anger. But only the anger showed.

"Are you goddamn crazy?!" he yelled, earning himself several glances from passers-by. "You left me alone! I could have been ambushed! And you had no idea what you were getting into anyway!" He came forward, a storm in his face. "Goddamn, they said you were like this--I didn't believe them. Don't ever, ever do that again, understand?"

Rey's eyes fell into dangerous slits.

"Don't," she muttered, "tell me what to do. Ever."

She made to veer around him, but he halted sharply in her path.

"Oh? Maybe General Organa or Kal forgot to tell you, but whenever I'm around, you're my charge, I'm your commander, and I'll pull rank if I hav--"

"I don't have a commander!" Rey yelled, her eyes suddenly flashing. " _Or_ a master! Not you, Skywalker, not Han Solo or Organa, not anyone."

Mouth slightly open, brow furrowed, Poe watched in muted, angered awe as Rey stalked across the docks toward the ship's open ramp. Before disappearing upstairs from view, she paused.

"And it doesn't matter anyway," she growled, sounding considerably less angry as she squinted into the middle distance. "I tore the station apart and couldn't find who did it."

"Yeah. Well." Poe's face fell into an odd expression: he couldn't decide to glare at this insane woman or grin at her. So his expression hung somewhere in between as he sauntered closer and pulled his tablet out from his back pocket.

"Turns out," he said, giving the tablet a little friendly shake, "Our friend Corra left some notes in the shop for us. Think I know where she is."

\--


	10. From Afar

Now introducing...well, introducing in a real way...everyone's newfound favorite angsty villain.

ENJOY! Thank you for the love, yet again!

\--TMG.

**Chapter Ten: From Afar**

\-----------

The young man who called himself Kylo Ren leaned back on the exam bench and slowly wound a bandage around his wrist with a lazy sort of boredom. Bandages. How quaint. Especially compared to the plates of metal sitting in his ribcage now post-surgery. He could barely inhale a breath without burning, searing pain. But, he mused, this was better than not being able to breathe it all, as it were...

"Sir?" came the voice of his physician. He was pulling latex gloves on his wrists which, Ren subtly noted, were trembling slightly.

 _Nervous,_ Ren thought at once, an amused lift to his brow. _I still make them nervous._

_Fools._

_Cowards._  
  
"Hurry up then," Ren muttered disinterestedly, flicking his eyes toward the wall and surrendering his bare right shoulder. The physician tapped the syringe, but before he could put it to use, it happened.

A horror gripped Kylo Ren's ribs, his lungs, his chest. He shoved the palms of his hands against his eyes, and a yell ripped from his throat like he'd been sliced in half.

"Sir?" gasped the physician, shocked. "What is--?"

"Shut up!" he snarled, knocking the syringe from his hands as he squeezed his eyes shut in sudden fierce concentration. His coiled his fists. His shoulders shook under the weight of it. Fresh blood seeped from his bandages. He was searching the dark, blindly groping for--  
  
"It was her," Ren muttered at last, opening his bloodshot eyes slowly like a predator. "The girl. She's...after something. And she felt--a certain horror...." She'd seen something that struck through her like a knife. A dead body. Terror. And beneath her terror: a deep well of guilt, a lingering ache. And there was curiously something new there, something he'd never sensed from her: a small note of longing.

"She's not alone," he went on, uncoiling his fists and bringing them to his lap. "But she's not at the base, and..." A grim, cool smile suddenly parted his lips. "Skywalker isn't with her."

He shot a look at the physician, who was stark-white in shock. "We need to move. Tell your captain, whoever he is--tell them now. Go."

The physician opened his mouth, gaping.

" _Now,_ I said!"

\---------


	11. When and If

Happy Memorial Day weekend, all! I'm likely going to have another chapter ready for you after this one really soon...it's been in my head for awhile and I'm eager to write it. Ta for now!

\--TMG

**Chapter Eleven: When and If**

****  
\-----------

"And you're sure," Rey said, eyeing Poe closely, "you're sure this means Mantera Bay.'"

Poe slouched in the half-moon booth, his hands folded behind his neck. All around them, the Falcon lay dim and quiet, emitting only soft, electric beeps from the bridge.

"Sure I'm sure. Read Corra's note again. She's describing Mantera to a T, plus it just _seems_ like somewhere an ancient healer would go on holiday. S'nice place, quiet little city. Rains a lot."

Rey was skeptical, though she decided, for perhaps the first time, to bite down on her cheek and say nothing: it was only because of Poe they had any kind of lead. While she'd stupidly chased a ghost through Kadina, he'd-- _brilliantly and courageously_ , as he kept saying--dug through the workshop until he found a tablet with old messages. In a note to a friend, Corra had described escaping Kadina for a few weeks of reprieve.

Poe believed it was Mantera Bay. And so that was where they would go.

Rey did not realize it, but she'd dropped her forehead into her hand as she gazed distantly at the table; it was enough to earn Poe's gaze.

"Y'alright?" he wondered, no doubt referencing hours before when a dead body had dropped to their feet. She forced herself back to the present moment, and found that he had an overtly intense stare. He held eye contact steadily, without embarrassment.

"I think so," she offered quietly. "Are you?"

A slow, wry grin spread over his scruffy face. "I'd feel better if I knew who got close enough to us for a kill-shot today."

"Well." Rey massaged her temples, huffing out a breath, grateful to occupy her mind. "Let's consider who it was then. Makes sense that someone's targeting you or me--"

"Especially you," he countered, lifting a brow. "You're the real troublemaker."

It was not an insult. He looked serious, but affection colored his tone. 

"But they didn't hurt _us_ ," she went on, smiling briefly. "They just killed our informant and fled. Seems like it was a gun-for-hire...someone who, what? Wants Corra for themselves and us off the trail?"

"Or they just want Finn dead," said Poe. "The First Order needs Finn gone; he has all the secrets. When he wakes up, he'll be ready to spill."

Rey felt a touch of warmth in her chest, and it took her a moment to identify why: Poe had said _when_ Finn awoke, and not _if._

"I'm just surprised," Poe went on, leaning forward and cupping his jaw thoughtfully, "that they--whoever they are--managed to get close enough to Corra's shop...that's pretty inside information to get this far. You--" He winced with guilt. "You haven't told anyone about this mission, right--?"

Rey wrinkled her brow, deciding whether or not she should feel offended. "Don't insult me. Who would I even tell?"

"Right, right, sorry. I didn't tell anyone either, just my squad." He aimed his eyes at the ceiling, back to thinking, but Rey blinked at him slowly.

"So you _did_ tell people about this mission."

"Eh? What? No, telling my squad doesn't count," Poe said, actually laughing. "Of course I told them: if something happens to me one of 'em is coming to take my place in this. And anyway, before you even think it, they'd die before they put me in danger."

His confidence: it was just so uncomfortable to witness, like watching someone fall down stairs. Feeling wrong-footed, Rey averted her eyes, privately thinking that she would likely never trust anyone the way Poe trusted all of his friends.

\----------


	12. Camp (Part I)

  
**Chapter Twelve: Camp (Part I)**

\----------------

"This isn't right," called Rey, brushing sweaty hair from her forehead with her wrist. Her legs ached as she trekked up the steep path into the thick haze of greenery.

Ahead, the figure of Poe trudged through the brush, pushing branches out of their path as they ventured deeper into the jungle. Rey had allowed him to borrow her staff for the purpose; they were switching off who led, as it was no easy task: the branches and hanging vines were so thick that it was actually dim beneath the canopy of leaves. It was also oppressively humid. 

The fabric of her clothing clinging to her flesh, her throat was dry, Rey called, "Poe! Hang on, we're going the wrong way again. We need to--"

"Take the lower path, then steer left," Poe called, without looking back. He had never been near this jungle, but that did not prevent him from acting like he had mapped it all out himself.

Rey halted in knee-tall grass, twisting to get the hand-drawn map from her knapsack. "Would you stop for a second? I'm telling you this isn't right. We need to go further west."

"If we go west, we'll hit the river."

"What are you talking about? The river's east."

"It is not," Poe groaned, finally coming to a halt and rolling his eyes at her.

"Yes, it is." Shooting him a glare, she brandished the map in his face. "I know my way around a map. Look."

Innocently, Poe leaned his forehead against her long staff. Then he grabbed the map, frowned at it for a moment, and admitted, "Okay, so maybe we're a little off. But hey, it's getting dark anyway--we might as well call it quits for the night and set up camp, yeah?"

Unfortunately, he was quite right. The first shadows of deep twilight were darkening the jungle. Rey had hoped they could make this trip up the mountain to Corra in one day, but the villagers of Mantera Bay had warned against trying. Mantera boasted miles of thick, lush jungle, and Corra's bungalow was at the very top.

"All the way up there?" Poe had said, grimacing at the villager before darting a knowing look toward Rey. "Finn's lucky we like him..."

Now, Rey released a sigh and found the nearest clearing in the trees, letting her knapsack thud to the ground. 

"You know," said Poe, also dismantling his pack, "I've got a better idea." Kneeled in the dirt, he looked up at her with bright eyes. "Why don't you just use the bloody Force and tell this Corra woman to get down here."

In spite of herself, in spite of her exhaustion, Rey laughed.

"That," she laughed, "is not how the Force works."

"No?" He grinned, pulling supplies from his bag and tossing them haphazardly into the grass. "'Cause I can't seem to get a straight answer on what the Force can and can't do."

"Honestly? Me either." Rey circled around the perimeter of the clearing, kicking rocks side, looking for firewood. "But it does allow me to sense some things, mostly."

"Mm?" Poe lowered to the edge of a mossy log, bringing his elbows to his knees. "And what've you sensed about me?"

Rey opened her mouth, hesitating. Then she said, "Well, for one. Your officer Kal? She has a thing for you."

"No way." Confused, Poe tilted his head to the side, rather like a dog trying to understand. "She--really? Kal?"

Rey nodded, truthful. She'd sensed a certain a leap of emotion in Kal whenever Poe regarded her or nodded in her direction. "Yes, really. It was radiating off her. I'm sure that's why she offered you the Finn intel, too. She's trying to respect your authority as her commander but she's desperate to ask you out."

Poe no longer looked confused by this news: now he adopted a puzzled, half-grinning expression of (why was this so irritating?) curiosity. Intrigue.

"Huh," he grunted, tapping his lips briskly. "Well. That's an interesting development. I'll have to look into that." He arched his eyebrows at her, hopeful. "So anyone else on the base got it bad for me?"

"Hm. I'm not sure I recall." Rey planted her hands on her hips, eyeing him. "Find some firewood for me and maybe that'll jog my memory."

Grinning, Poe rose to his feet.

_This chapter is to be continued._

\---------


	13. Camp (part II)

Thank you, everyone, for all your comments and kudos. I'm back and excited to continue this story! I admit it: I am RUSTY. Give me some time to get back into this ;)

Thanks again everyone.

\- TMG

**Camp (Part II)**

\----------------

Twilight descended over the jungle, covering the forest in an inky-black blanket. Branches swung overhead in the humid breeze, and animals of all species rustled noisily through the brush.

As scarlet and gold flames crackled at his feet, Poe stood snapping twigs, tossing them into the bonfire. "Tonight," he announced, "our dinner menu features wood-grilled trout, pulled fresh from the Northern river, with a flakey crust -- "

Rey sat cross-legged against a tree, sharpening her staff. She looked up at him blankly. "What?"

"Fish is done," he clarified, grinning, as he jutted a stick into the fire. "And yes, I did burn it a little, but let's called it 'charred,' eh?"

Crouching down on his legs, he started to shovel food onto a metal plate.

"Oh -- " said Rey, startled. "No, no thank you."

"Seriously? We walked twelve miles today." The expression on his face was not one of judgement, as Rey expected, but brow-furrowed concern.

"I guess -- I can have a little."

When they'd gathered firewood and returned to camp hours earlier, Rey had went about her business as if were alone in the woods: setting down her knapsack carefully, nibbling quietly on a protein bar with her back to him, studying the map that lay across her knees.

That was why Poe felt some surprise -- but knew to quickly disguise it -- when she lowered to sit on the mossy leg beside him, holding her plate in her lap. From the corner of his eye, as he shoved bread into his mouth, he noticed that she was eyeing her food more than she was touching it.

"Oh c'mon, is my cooking that b -- "

"I don't like eating in front of people," Rey admitted suddenly. Her voice was soft, confessional.

Poe chewed slowly, and swallowed. "Why?"

"Back home, if you were stupid enough to let someone see you eat, it meant you were about to get food ripped out of your hands. Everyone at the outpost is underfed. Either the food I've got is about to be stolen, or someone hungrier than I am is going to see me eat it. And now -- now, I have a hard time eating around people. And I eat too fast, I don't even like using _plates_ , and who wants to see me eat with my hands? I know it's bizarre," she added quickly, flashing him a look of worry. "I refuse meals in the mess hall and just eat in the Falcon, I'm sure everyone on base thinks I'm completely rude."

Poe lowered his fork from his mouth. In his mind, he could see a sun-burnt version of Rey, ducking inside a dusty alley to she could fearfully scarf down supper.

Rising to his feet, plate in hand, Poe turned and stepped his leg over the log. Confused, Rey turned to ask him where he was going --

But then he lowered to sit on the log behind her, so they were back to back: now, he could no longer see her eating.

"This better?" he asked sincerely, and Rey found herself stunned to silence.

"It is. Yes. Thank you."

Poe thought he could feel her smiling.

\----------------


	14. Like Magic

Here it is... the moment you've been waiting for (I hope!)

**Like Magic**

\- - - - - - - - 

Morning in the jungle dawned bright and humid. Rey knelt in the sand, filling her palms with cool lake water and splashing it over her face. A sigh escaped her lungs as she raised her eyes. Today was the day: by night fall, they would reach Corra the Healer. They would be one step closer to helping Finn.

Crouched on her legs, she rested her forearms on her knees and noticed motion in the water. With childlike wonder, she watched, transfixed, as minnows darted in the shallows, like thin silver darts. Like magic.

"You're an early riser," came the voice behind her. Poe approached through the knee-high grass, pulling on a fresh army-green shirt over his bare chest. She averted her eyes.

"You have to beat the sun on Jakku. I tried to do most of my scavenging before dawn and after sunset." Reaching for her staff, Rey rose to her feet. "So have you give any thought to what we'll say to Corra? Doubtful she'll be thrilled to volunteer to help us."

"Oh, I'm planning to rely on my good looks and charm." He scooped a handful of rocks from the ground, and began to skip them over the lake's surface. He had impeccable rock-skipping form, and Rey wondered when he'd learned how. Normal childhood activities, she thought.

"Well, this woman doesn't strike me as someone who will be charmed by your company."

"Unlike you, you mean?" He tossed her a grin, brighter than the sparkling lake. "We had a great dinner together last night."

He wasn't wrong about that, but Rey fought to keep a smirk from spreading on her face. "I find you perfectly adequate."

"I'm flattered."

Exchanging one last bemused glance, they returned to camp together. Poe smothered out the last embers of the fire with his combat boot, and Rey heaved her knapsack over her back.

"If it comes down to it, I'll name-drop General Organa," said Poe, holding a branch out of the way of their path as they hiked up a slope. "That'll be the ace up our sleeve."

"I don't know if she'll be moved by that. Does she even know Leia well? Or trust her as a friend? She clearly enjoys her solitude."

From behind her, Poe mused, "Some might say the same about you."

Rey slowed to a halt, cutting him a glare. For some reason, she felt prickly with unease, snappish. "I don't enjoy solitude. Just like you don't 'enjoy' being part of the Resistance. It's just all I've ever known. This is my first time completing a job with anyone else."

Poe did not seem insulted. He was thoughtful, patient.

"And what do you think so far?" he wondered, and Rey gave him a rare, truthful answer.

"I haven't decided yet."

\- - - - - - 

By midday, the temperature cooled. The sunlight bathing their shoulders seemed to evaporate as the air grew thick and sticky beneath the trees. Leaves slapped noisily against their branches.

Taking a break as Poe scouted ahead, Rey leaned one shoulder against a gnarled, tall tree. Uncorking her canteen, she was about to take a long drink when she gasped, dropping it: a tremendous rumble sounded through the jungle, shaking leaves to the ground like confetti, filling Rey's chest like a drum.

Rey grabbed her staff from her back, walking backwards carefully, her eyes searching the trees. In the next moment, Poe skidded to a halt in the clearing.

"What is it?" he breathed, withdrawing the blaster he kept tucked into the small of his back.

"I heard a ship approaching. Maybe an explosion -- "

It sounded again: the long, steady boom, as if a building was falling somewhere in the distance.

"That? Is that the noise you heard?" Poe demanded. For some unnerving reason, he was not watching for enemies, but staring avidly at her.

"Rey?" he pressed, softening. "That's thunder. Thunder, like from an oncoming storm. Here, look."

Taking her by the elbow, he steered her further into the grassy clearing and pointed with his free hand to the swirling pewter clouds. A fork of violet lightning lanced across the sky.

"See? Thunder, and now lightning."

Slack-jawed, Rey felt a wave of shock hit her in the chest.

"Haven't you ever, ah, seen a storm before?" He was watching her tentatively, almost grinning, as if deciding whether or not he could burst into laughter. 

"No," she answered, ripping her forearm free from his grasp. "Not that I can remember, anyway -- "

Suddenly desperate with embarrassment, Rey seized her knapsack from the ground, ducking to hide her burning face. She could not stand to see humor in his face. Or worse, pity. Somewhat clumsily, she brushed past his shoulder ("let's just keep moving then, to beat the storm," she muttered).

She could feel his eyes on her back, and was she was considering if she could somehow use the Force to erase his memory, when --

When the clouds opened up.

With a _crack_ , the sky above them split in two. With a rush, a shower of rain dropped to the ground in cool, clear sheets, drenching their clothes to their skin.

In spite of herself, Rey stopped in her tracks, looked up in astonishment, and opened her mouth to laugh aloud in surprise. Dropping her knapsack at her feet, she threw out both of her hands, letting water splash into her palms and flow between her fingers.

Turning in a dazed circle, she squinted at Poe through the haze.

"Pretty great, yeah?" he called to her over the roar of the storm, laughing, too.

"I can't believe this," she sputtered. "How come most people don't like rain?"

"You know? Right now, I have no idea," he admitted, shrugging his jacket from shoulders. He tossed it toward a tree, holding out his own hands to catch the rain. But his eyes were on her.

"I wasn't laughing at you before. Honestly, I'm jealous. I'd love to experience a storm again for the first time."

He smiled at her a little tentatively, his dark wet hair clinging to his forehead, and Rey felt the urge to brush it away.

So she did just that. Closing the distance between them, she drifted through the tall grass. Her staff fell to the ground, forgotten.

She brought her slightly trembling, slick hands to either side of his angled face, as if examining him. Using the pad of thumb, she carefully brushed the wet, heavy strands of hair back toward his temple.

"I've decided," she told him over the rain. "I've decided I don't mind you."

Holding her wrists, Poe regarded the angles of her face. Freckles dusted the bridge of her nose. Water droplets glittered in her eyelashes.

"I don't mind you either."

Before he could talk himself from taking the chance, Poe lowered his attention to her lips, studying the fine lines there, before slowly tilting his mouth to crush it against her own. 

\- - - - - -


	15. Something So Unlikely

**Something So Unlikely**

\- - - - - - 

The rainstorm thinned to a humid drizzle. A clump of sweaty hair clung to Rey's forehead as she lifted her knees, leading the way carefully through the tall, thick grass against her thighs. She used her staff as a walking stick as the mountain's incline grew more rocky and strenuous.

"A mile left at most," called Poe, some distance behind her, his voice hoarse with fatigue. "We'll make it by sundown. Fancy one last water break, cap'n?"

Beneath the thin shade of a tree, they passed a canteen back and forth. Poe had abandoned his worn flight jacket somewhere in the jungle, and his shirt clung to his chest as he took a long drink, then poured some of it over his hair and shook his head, like a dog. He was so strange, Rey thought, taking a moment to discreetly eye him fondly as she accepted the canteen in her hand.

"Our intel said Corra's something of a pacifist," Poe said. "Once we tell her about Finn, she'll be on our side. We have nothing to worry about."

"All my life," Rey answered, "I've never believed anyone who has told me that."

Poe barked a laugh. But then his expression dimmed.

"One last thing before we do this." He looked serious as he added, "Am I the first person you've ever kissed?"

Rey dropped her jaw.

"I may be from the desert, I'm not _dead_."

As it happened, Poe was the _third_ man she'd ever kissed, but she didn't need to share numbers, did she? On Jakku, months ago, there'd been a boy with smooth dark skin, bright green eyes, black hair untouched by the sun's bleaching rays. A fellow scavenger. His name was Neil, and he'd been mute his whole life, but they did not need words to understand each other. They shared their bodies in the muffled darkness of the tent where he lived, and these were among the very few memories of Jakku Rey kept close, like a talisman.

As for the other 'kiss' -- a nameless drunkard with a ruddy face had followed through the outpost, thrown her shoulders against an alley wall, and pressed his mouth against her neck, crushing her with his body weight.

She'd kneed him in the groin and fled.

Throwing her knapsack over her shoulder, Rey broke apart from the tree and began to head up the mountain, her head swirling with what had transpired in the clearing.

Raindrops pounded their shoulders. Holding her wrists, Poe tilted his mouth down against hers in a warm, crushing kiss.

Allowing her eyes to close, Rey did not immediately respond, her eyebrows drawn together tightly, as if confused, stunned. Thrilled. Her skin felt too thin to contain her.

Responding at last, Rey applied more pressure to his mouth and deepened the kiss herself. One hand held against his shoulder, fingertips curving against him. He cradled the edge of her face, taking his sweet time to kiss her at length, and nothing else mattered besides the push and retreat of their mouths -- until at last, they eased apart slowly, staring at one another in alarm, each of them grinning and laughing, Rey thought, like idiots.

Even now, Rey could feel her cheekbones flushing, though not out of displeasure. Kissing Poe -- kissing _anyone_ \-- seemed so decidedly unlikely, like she was borrowing a piece of someone else's life that would need to be soon returned. Certainly, this moment of happiness did not belong to her entirely. But perhaps, she thought to herself: perhaps she could keep this one for herself.

"Why," she threw over her shoulder, unable to stem the teasing question. "Did I seem like I didn't know what I was doing?"

"Oh, not at all," came Poe's loose, relaxed voice from down the path. "But just in case, we ought to keep practicing."

Rey was grateful that she was leading them up the mountain, as it was easier to hide her laugh. Coming to a halt, her smile thinned as she spotted, at long last, Corra's hold.

\- - - - - - 


	16. Betrayal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Excitement...action...intensifies! I hope you enjoy. Would love to hear what you think of this one. Thanks all. :-)

**Betrayal**

\- - - - - - - - 

The sun sank deep into the horizon, painting the sky with tendrils of rose and splashes of ink. As emerald grass blew lightly against their knees, Poe and Rey stood shoulder-to-shoulder and simply absorbed the view they'd found: a modest, rickety hut, built into the mountainside, surrounded by grey boulders and a lush weed-filled garden.

The home of Corra the Healer.

"Well. No time like the present," Poe announced cheerfully, clapping her warmly at the small of her back -- a place, she noted fleetingly, where he had never touched her before. Had she ever been touched there, by anyone?

"No time like the present," she muttered agreeably, but before he could walk off, Rey startled herself by snatching his wrist, halting him in place like a fish on a line. She glimpsed his expression of confusion.

"Poe."

(The Force swept over her, like an icy wind off a frozen lake.)

" -- Wait."

(Frost began to spread over her flesh.)

(Ice filled her lungs.)

"No -- "

Gasping, Rey opened her eyes. Poe held her upright by the shoulders. She was shaking, she felt boneless, ready to collapse --

\-- and in the same impulse, a surge of anger pulsed through her; she felt powerful enough to move the entire mountain with only her two hands.

"The hell was that?" Poe demanded, looking downright alarmed. He captured the edges of her her face in her hands, and she gripped his wrists to stay upright.

"I don't -- I don't know," she babbled, too frantic to be embarrassed that she had to blink back tears. "The Force. A warning. Something bad's happened. Corra, she's -- I think she's -- "

"Is she dead? Like the shop keep?"

Rey shook her head, frantic, throwing her eyes over to the hut. In a sudden rush, she slid down from Poe's hands and sprinted toward the front door, skidding to a halt in the rocks.

(The cold wave of the Force filled her with knowing. With certainty.)

 _"You sold us out_ ," she breathed to the woman inside, throwing open the door so hard it unhinged from its socket.

The woman called Corra was seated on a cushion at a small wooden table, her hands folded in her lap. A clear pot of tea simmered before her. Lines carved her ancient face -- she looked older than the mountain -- and her round, grey eyes showed nothing but sadness.

"You must be Rey," she said softly. Then she added: "I'm very sorry. I cannot help you. I cannot aid the Resistance."

"Don't help the Resistance then," Rey growled, throwing aside a beaded curtain to step further into the room, a storm of fury. "Just help one person. Help my friend! Are you a Healer or are you not? He needs healing!"

"But -- you must understand: I have friends too," the woman explained quietly. "Just as you protect your own, I must protect mine from this senseless war." She nodded at the empty seat. "Will you sit?"

Just as Rey growled an answer ("no, I won't _sit_ with you,"), Poe appeared in the open doorway. His attention flew from Corra, to Rey, and in his right hand was his blaster.

"What," he muttered, his voice remarkably steady, "is going on?"

"She told them," Rey breathed. "She made us chase her all the way here, and she told the First Order where to find us -- "

Poe swung his widened eyes to Corra.

"She's quite right," the woman sighed, cleaning her eyeglasses vaguely on her robe. "I sent a note to an officer. This is a bargaining chip. You must understand, Poe Dameron, the theater of war. Do you not? But, please, give my regards to General Organa, I wish I could do right by h -- "

" _Don't say her name to me_ ," Poe growled, before dropping his hand, hard, onto Rey's shoulder. "We need to leave -- now. _Now_ , Rey -- " He started to draw her backwards toward the door, half of his attention urgently searching the darkened sky outside. The tops of the trees were tossing in a sudden breeze -- the grass was swaying -- 

"Then she's coming with us." Rey threw herself forward, but Poe's forearm snatched her around the middle before she could lunge. "She's coming with, she's helping Finn, I'm not leaving without her -- "

The glass bottles and vials filling the shelves began to shake noisily.

" -- First Order Navy ship," Poe announced calmly, his eyes on the night sky. "Rey, we need to go _now_ , please don't make me drag you," he breathed in warning in her ear, the words tight between his teeth.

Clenching her jaw, Rey glared one last look of pure venom at Corra, before shoving off Poe's arms around her. Just as they turned to flee, the sleek First Order ship outside lowered expertly to meet the ground, extending a ramp onto the grass, allowing a dozen Storm Troopers to spill forth into the night.

\- - - - - - - 


	17. Fate and Fury

**Fate and Fury**

\- - - - - - - - - 

The nameless Storm Trooper snatched Poe's blaster from his hand, tossing it sideways. The gun skidded and disappeared into the tall grass.

Another Trooper shoved down Poe's shoulders. His knees thudded into the ground.

Poe winced, but he also adopted a look of boredom. "Oh let's just get on with it already," he said dryly as wrists were drawn backward and bound at the small of his back.

In his head, he silently took stock of the scene and counted _eighteen, twenty, twenty-two... thirty_ white-masked Troopers at least, blasters in hand, stalking around the clearing, organizing around their two captives, barking orders. Through the chaos, Poe kept half of his attention on Rey.

"Search the trees, there may be more of them!" the leader yelled, muffled through her mask. "Check the girl for more weapons!"

Rey's long staff was seized, and one of the Troopers tried to break it over his knee (Poe was pleased to see he could not manage it). And another patted her shoulders, then her hips, then the sides of her thighs, and it was enough to make Rey snap, " _Hey, watch it!"_ into the soldier's masked face.

A dark grin flickered over Poe's face, although he felt the first sting of panic in his chest as Rey's hands were tied and she was shoved to her knees beside him.

"Ah. Rey?" he started quietly, shifting his eyes over the sea of white armor. "Now would be a good time to -- "

"Don't say it. Don't say 'use the Force.' I _left_ Jedi training, remember -- "

 _Don't remind me_ , Poe wanted to say, watching the scene near the First Order ship. Pacing back and forth, the leader was speaking urgently into her COMM device and he heard a snippet of her words: _" -- called in our captors. Now just check the database. Hurry -- "_

"They don't know who we are," Poe realized quietly. "Corra didn't give them our identities, they don't know who they've got."

"They will soon enough," Rey replied bitterly, and Poe wasn't sure if it was warning or worry in her voice as she closed her eyes.

A look of passive, neutral concentration fell over her features. She bit down on the edge of her lip, hard enough to draw blood; discreetly, Poe noted that the bindings snaked around Rey's wrists were beginning to slowly unravel, as if undone by an invisible, careful hand.

"I'll stall them," Poe said to her quietly, tearing his eyes away just as one of the Troopers turned on his heel. Even with his armor, Poe recognized agitation, urgency --

"Enough," the Trooper withdrew his heavy rifle, " _talking!_ " In one swift moment, before Poe could duck his head to the side, the man struck the weapon against Poe's face, a _crack_ of metal meeting bone.

White-hot pain shot through his temple, and he heard himself yell (" _no!_ " Rey growled, a half-yell of anger). The rusty tang of blood filled his mouth. Squinting his eyes, he strained his hand against his bindings, and he heard more than he actually saw Rey's bindings suddenly _snap_ free, like a whip.

Fury in her face, Rey jumped to her feet, and threw out her open palm. In a rush Poe's blaster shot out of the grass and into her ready hand.

She turned the blaster onto a Storm Trooper, squeezing the trigger with a blast that sent him to the ground. And then, over the yells and furious gunfire, another voice joined the fray.

"Enough!" called Luke Skywalker from beneath his hood, emerging from the dark trees.

\- - - - - - - - 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure you were all thinking what I was when I had the Storm Trooper hit Poe: NO! NOT HIS FACE! ;)


	18. Bargaining

  
**Bargaining**

\- - - - - - - -  


The bright interior lights of the First Order's ship splashed over the grassy clearing, casting the figure of Luke Skywalker half in shadow as he emerged from the darkened trees. Storm Troopers turned their guns onto him, blasting streaks of red at his chest, but he strode into the the scene as slowly as if he were entering a market place, like a casual passer-by.

Rey watched with round eyes as Luke lifted his hand into the air -- like a nuisance, an afterthought -- and in one wave, every Storm Trooper dropped to the ground, their armor crunching as they thudded into the grass. And they moved no more.

Too shocked to speak, Rey slowly lowered the blaster back to her side.

"Did you know about this?" Poe hissed from beside her, his hands still bound at his back. "Did you call for him or something?"

"Of course not," Rey breathed, and she wasn't sure if she should have been relieved, fearful, neither, or both, as Luke drifted to a stop.

For several seconds, he said nothing; the only sound came from the breeze whipping through the trees.

Drawing back on his hood so it rested at his shoulders, Luke greeted softly, "You've made grave mistakes, Rey."

"So you followed us," was all Rey could think to answer, and suddenly, a flash of annoyance -- of bitterness, or maybe amusement -- touched Skywalker's lined face.

"Well you made it rather easy to do," he said shortly, sounding much more human, reaching into his cloak and tossing out something dark green and worn -- Poe's flight jacket -- at her feet. "By leaving this sitting in the middle of the jungle. Leave a map too, next time, will you?"

" -- Ah," said Poe, and he tried to force a grin over his face, but he could not make his mouth work properly. Poe considered himself incapable of embarrassment -- a lifetime in battle rather stripped you of needless, unproductive emotions -- but he certainly felt something close to embarassment, standing there stupidly in front of General Organa's legendary sibling.

"Hey. Rey," he stage-whispered loudly, "any chance you could -- ?"

Rey side-stepped to hastily untie Poe's hands, her bright eyes following Luke's every movement.

"I told you, I told you I'm not doing it. I'm not training with you until Finn's better. He needs me and I'm not going back."

"Trust that the last thing I want to do is train you," Skywalker muttered. "Unfortunately, I have little choice in the matter now. And now, I suppose we ought to talk. Build a fire, would you," he added wryly to Poe as he settled in to sit down. It was not a request.

\- - - - - - - -  


Poe gave Rey a half-hearted salute with two fingers.

"Good luck," he'd muttered gruffly, "and just call for me me if you need me, alright?" Although he was deeply curious about Skywalker, he made himself scarce, first to raid Corra's hut for anything useful, and then to poke around the emptied First Order ship.

Rey could hear him muttering and sometimes singing idly to himself as he tried to break into the ship's controls, and she felt a powerful impulse to join him instead of lower to the ground across from the judgmental gaze of Luke Skywalker.

The fire crackled, spitting sparks into the darkened sky.

His robes pooling into the dirt, Luke rested cross-legged on the ground, sitting with the posture and flexibility of a much younger man. His eyes were stormy as they searched Rey's face.

"I cannot ignore when the Force so much as whispers into my ear," he said, his voice quiet and tired, as if he had not used it for several weeks. "And right now, it is bellowing. Screaming."

Rey drew a knee to her chest.

"And what's it saying?" she asked quietly, tearing a strand of grass apart.

"That you must learn. That you cannot be distracted by this war, or by the manners of flesh and blood."

Rey paused, and she narrowed her eyes.

"Poe," she muttered darkly, straightening her spine defensively, "is not a distraction. You should know that he's your sister's right-hand, he's a pilot like you once were, and a leader of the Resistance -- "

"I know who he is," Luke interrupted coolly, raising an eyebrow. "And incidentally, it was Finn I was referring to. You are being called, and this is bigger than any one person can fathom, and you must leave behind the desires of the individual -- "

"I'm not giving up on Finn."

"Then you lose the war," said Luke simply, and he shrank his shoulders. His eyes frosted over, and he gazed into the fire. "Then you lose the war, and the First Order claims victory."

Grappling for sense, Rey blurted out, "Why don't _you_ help Finn? I begged you before. I'll keep begging you I have to -- "

She began to sputter and argue, but Luke held up his hand.

"Leave to train with me," he pressed softly, "And I can heal Finn."

\- - - - - - - -  



	19. Back to the Falcon

**Back to the Falcon**

\- - - - - - - -  


The Millenium Falcon plunged silently through the deep black of space. Stars cruised past the window. Inside the bridge, Poe took up the captain's chair -- with Rey's permission this time -- and drew back on the thrust mechanism, bringing the ship to a higher speed.

Behind him, Rey leaned her shoulder against the doorway, observing him work with her arms folded.

"You know? I think she's starting to like me," Poe said, releasing the thrust with satisfaction. He spun around in the chair and arched his eyebrows at her. "The Falcon, that is. Not you. I'd never presume."

She shot him a grin, almost shyly.

"So," he wondered quietly, bringing his palms behind his neck. "What're you going to do?"

It was the question that had been eating at Rey for hours. After they'd departed Corra's hold, the trio returned to the Falcon -- it was something of a long, awkward hike down the mountain, the strangest caravan Poe could ever imagine. Occasionally, Skywalker would make outside observations (usually needling ones) or challenge Rey to use the Force in a small, curious ways, like parting the branches ahead of them.

Mostly, Poe had been amazed at Luke's stamina, his ability to hike for hours without a break or without water. "So is he crazy or what?" Poe demanded quietly in Rey's ear when they'd taken a water break and the older man hiked on.

"He must be," Rey hissed back, mildly alarmed. "And he's supposed to be my teacher -- "

The moment Skywalker's eyes had fallen on the Millenium Falcon, however, he fell deathly, coldly silent, and then disappeared somewhere into the depths of the ship -- presumably, he was meditating, or perhaps talking quietly with R-2.

Now, the Falcon traveled back toward the base -- how long it would remain there with its captain, he didn't know.

Rey gnawed on her bottom lip. "He offered me a deal I can't refuse. 'Train with me and I'll help Finn.' You know, when I told you I'd do anything to help Finn heal, this isn't what I had in mind."

"No kidding."

Glancing to the side, he kicked the co-pilot's chair open for her, an invitation. She slid off the wall and dropped into it.

"And you know what else," she said, holding her knees, and raising her eyes to his. "No one's ever stopped to ever ask me if I _want_ to this. He told me 'wants are irrelevant now' but I don't know if I want to be a Jedi. There are other ways for me to help Resistance."

"I can think of a few," Poe answered, and he wondered vaguely what it would be like to have Rey in his squad, joining the crew on missions to find fuel, trade credits for heavy weaponry on the black market, or scout new basecamps.

 _She'd never listen to you_ , added the voice in the back of his head at once, and he felt a surge of affection for the woman seated across from him, their knees touching.

"There's something else." Rey's eyes glossed over, and she exhaled a breath. "He also said Kylo Ren is coming to kill me, and I have to be ready for him. Otherwise I'll just draw him to the base and he'll wipe out everyone."

Poe opened his mouth slightly. Words failed him, until --

"Are you afraid?" he wondered quietly.

"A little," Rey admitted. A thin, feeble smile touched her lips. "Maybe more than a little. The worst part about this is knowing that we failed. We failed Finn."

Poe furrowed his brow at once. "Finn," he corrected, "is hanging on just fine." He nodded at the COMM device, where they had made contact with the base. "He's got time for you."

But Rey was shaking her head. "We didn't bring him Corra like we promised. While we were -- while we were kissing like that in the rain, like idiots -- "

" -- Corra had already betrayed us," Poe finished. "She'd already sold us out, no matter what we did in that clearing." He paused, and then acknowledged, "And anyway, I don't regret it for a second."

Rey pressed her lips together into a thin, hard line, but she felt herself softening as her eyes searched over his face.

"I don't regret it either."

In the dim light of the bridge, they regarded each other for several long, heavy seconds. Poe's hand came to rest at her knee, and he spread his fingers. Rey leaned in just as he did the same, their eyes falling closed as their lips met in a slow, soft brush, a tender kiss as the dim lights of the control board slid them in and out of shadow. After a moment, Poe opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, his hand coming to hold the edge of her face, and it was then that a rough, impatient voice snapped through the room.

" -- three hours time until landing, is it," said Skywalker from the doorway, and their chairs jumped apart, scrapping metal against the floor.

"Right," Poe coughed, scratching at his hair as he returned to the field of controls. "Just under three hours." He glanced at Rey and saw she was glowing red, holding her jaw as she stared, wide-eyed, out the window.

\- - - - - - - -  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You just *know* I had to write a kiss happening on the Millenium Falcon. It's not a romance SW fic without one of those. :D Thanks, all, for leaving such lovely comments - it really motivates me to keep going with this fic of mine!


	20. At the Base

**At the Base**

\- - - - - - - 

The ramp of the Millenium Falcon creaked to the ground of the D'Qar base. Even before the Falcon was finished emitting its noisy exhaust fumes, men and women dressed in orange flight uniforms swarmed, a flurry of urgent whispers.

As she stood at the top of the ramp, Rey's eyes flashed with alarm -- _What happened? Was there an attack?_ \-- but as Poe trotted past her, grinning, she realized it was a reunion.

A celebration.

"And our fearless leader returns!" yelled a man's gruff voice, and Poe was slapped on the back, pulled into hugs. Rey noticed that Kal was among the crowd, practically glowing as her eyes followed Poe.

"Ya ever going to tell us what the mission was, commander?" said a man with a thick blonde beard.

"That's not what 'classified' means, now is it, Laro?"

"Was that you flying the Falcon?"

"What's _that?_ " Kal said, stepping forward and grabbing Poe's head, tilting him down so she could examine the dark gash in his temple, still healing. It was the work of the Storm Trooper, of course, but all Poe said was, "Just a scratch. Shoulda seen the other guy. Now hands to yourself, please -- one at a time now -- "

"At least tell us if the job was a success?"

"Ah. High highs, low lows," said Poe, glancing past his shoulder to meet Rey's gaze, light brimming in his eyes, for a split second.

Parting the crowd, he walked toward the base and called cheerfully, "How 'bout everyone gets back to work, eh? And maybe you'll get details later."

His announcement was greeted with boos and jeers, but even these contained warmth.

Rey tilted her head to the side, transfixed. This was how Poe lived and worked: surrounded by companions. And it didn't seem so bad at all.

\- - - - - - - 

Rey pressed her palm against the partition glass, gazing inside the infirmary, drinking in the sight: Finn lay with his eyes shut. His face was gaunt and sunken, like it had been carved out with a spoon.

The only sound came from the low _beep ... beep_ of the monitors. The screens flashed lines and numbers that meant nothing to Rey. Closing her eyes, she pressed her forehead to the cool glass.

In the hours since they'd landed, Rey had been quietly orienting herself to the organized chaos of the base. It was all motion and riot and color, people everywhere. She stuck close to the Falcon and tried without success to get answers out of Skywalker and General Organa, and now she stared at Finn, willing him to open his --

"You're Rey, yeah?" came an approaching male voice behind her. She did not ask how he knew her name.

He stuck out his hand.

"I'm Saya. Part of Black Squadron, with Poe. We're planning a poker game -- gonna drain Poe of all his credits. You up for it?"

\- - - - - - - 

Rey bit down on the inside of her mouth to keep from smiling. Innocently, she dragged her eyes over all the faces at the table. Then she slowly set down her cards.

"Royal flush."

The room burst into yells and applause.

"How does this keep _happening?_ " Saya gasped, as Laro groaned, digging into his pockets for more credits.

"I warned you. I warned you she's a natural at this kind of thing," said Poe, tossing his cards to the side in defeat before flashing her a quick smirk. Of course the Force was guiding her, she could sense their each and every bluff -- but he didn't share that with the group, so neither did she. 

As it turned out, Poe's friends were a lively bunch. The group crowded in the shared living quarters (bunk beds lined the wall, rumpled and messy), tossing out stories and jokes and insults so quickly that Rey could not totally follow. This was how the base spent their downtime, apparently: in their rumpled uniforms, drinking beer. Someone turned a dial on BB-8's antennae, and upbeat music flooded the room.

But they did not seem to find her presence particularly strange, or surprising, or unwelcome. _The pilot who went with Poe on the mission_ , was how she was introduced as people flooded in and out of the room with fresh bottles. Or _friend of General Organa_. Rey had no plans to share what had transpired between herself and their commander, and she could see now that Poe was someone who valued his friends deeply, but he also valued his privacy. Beneath the table, he held her knee for a moment, before grabbing for his beer.

"So," said Saya, aiming his eyes at her as he tilted a glass of whiskey against his mouth. "Since we can't get anything out of Poe, maybe we can get information out of you. The hell happened on this mission, eh? Been gone way longer than expected."

"It went a little sideways," Rey admitted carefully, catching Poe's eye. "But I'm afraid I can't tell you much more than that."

"How about this: we'll tell you something about Poe, and you give us the dirt? A fair trade."

" _That_ won't be necessary," said Poe, but Laro sat up at once.

"First time Poe ever brought a ship into light speed, he threw up all over the bridge."

The room burst into laughter, Rey included.

Dropping his eyes in shame, Poe shook his head, then cracked open another beer against the table. "Please, don't believe a word this idiot says -- "

Amidst the laughter and music, there was a knock at the door, and in slipped a woman holding a tablet against her chest. It was Kal -- Rey remembered her as the communications officer -- and at once, Rey felt a rush of the Force so strong she actually had to discreetly steady herself at the table.

(Kal silently breathed feelings toward Poe.)

"Hi, everyone -- "

(Her affections were shockingly powerful, radiating from her like sweet perfume.)

"Sorry to interrupt the game."

"Kal! Care to join us?" said Saya, and Rey blinked, bringing her attention back to the moment.

"Sure, once my shift is over. I'm actually here for Rey." Kal turned her attention to her, looking faintly puzzled, almost apologetic. "Luke Skywalker is looking for you in Dock-A. He said to tell you that it's time to leave."

A curious silence descended over the room, and all eyes swung to her. _"What?"_ Poe demanded, looking startled.

\- - - - - - - 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a few chapters left, y'all! :o


	21. Until Dawn

**Until Dawn**

\- - - - - - -

Poe jogged down the dock and skidded to a sharp, practiced halt. He had the expert form of a man who had done the action a thousand times before, although never for a reason so strange: to spy on Luke Skywalker. The poker game was all forgotten.

Dropping his forearms on the railing, Poe looked over to the edge to the landing pad below him.

Skywalker stood as a statue, his cloak blowing in the night's cool breeze, beside the Millenium Falcon. All was dark.

Rey approached him at a slow, angry distance. Poe strained his ears, but motion behind him caught his eye.

Apparently, he was not alone.

" _Guys_ ," he warned, rolling his eyes, but there was no keeping away his crew -- Laro, Saya, Kal, a few others, and even BB-8 rolled sneakily to his side -- and the whispers erupted.

"Is that really Skywalker?"

"What does he want with _her_?"

"Skywalker's been dead for decades, that's an imposter -- "

"Poe." Kal touched his arm, her hand holding his elbow. "Who is she? And what's going on?"

Faced with the idea that Rey was about to be abruptly swept out of his life -- and now facing it with an audience -- was enough for Poe's face to darken.

"That's 'commander,'" Poe corrected gruffly, dropping his attention to the scene below.

\- - - - - - -

"I'm not leaving," said Rey sharply, circling around Skywalker like a cat. "Not yet."

Luke's eyes were steady and unblinking, following her. "It's him. Kylo Ren." He knit his brow together, observing her. "You sense him too."

"Just -- we only just arrived. And you don't know when we'll be back, you said it could be months -- " Feeling both foolish and cornered, she sputtered, "I need more time, there are people I need to say goodbye to."

Rey thought she saw sadness flicker through his eyes. Understanding. At last, he nodded his head.

"Dawn, then. We leave at dawn."

\- - - - - - -

Rey lifted her hand and knocked -- quietly, but deliberately -- on the metal door to Poe's sleeping quarters. It was long after midnight, and the corridors were mostly silent. Instead of asking a deck officer for assistance (it was simply too revealing, she thought), she closed her eyes and walked, following the roaming, unwieldy power of the Force to find his room.

The base was a maze of hallways, but she followed the glowing yellow pulse in her chest until she felt him, half-asleep, on the other side of the door.

Poe arched his eyebrows at her, mouth open in surprise. His dark hair ran over his head in uneven angles, as if he'd been dozing, but not well. Somehow, Rey knew he never slept particularly well.

"You're still here," he stated, voice gravelly from sleep.

"For now." Rey paused. "Can I come in? Are you alone?"

"Wh -- yes, of course. Get outta here, BB-8 -- " Using the edge of his foot, he shoved BB-8 into the hallway with an ungraceful thud. Rey grinned slightly, averting her eyes.

The door slid shut with a hiss of air.

The space was narrow, cluttered -- clearly, it was not a place he spent much time. His flight jacket was thrown over a chair. Murky bottles of liquor (some full, some not) crowded the shelves. The bed was rumpled, and a stack of books as high as her waist served as a nightstand. (Rey noticed he kept four different guns hanging near his bed; like his own personal armory.)

"I like your room," said Rey sincerely, examining a display on the wall that held a dozen shining medals and pins. Between her fingers, she toyed with a piece of hardware that stated Poe had been awarded military honors for bravery and valor.

"Believe it or not, it's one of the larger ones on base."

Dropping her hand, Rey turned to face him. He was waiting near the doorway, allowing her space, his eyes following her intently. His expression was expectant.

"I leave tomorrow morning."

Unsurprised, Poe nodded at her.

She inhaled a deep breath. "I was thinking that I could stay the night."

\- - - - - - -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting close to the end here...1 or 2 chapters left at most. (I may be considering a sequel...haven't decided yet...) Regardless, I hope you're enjoying the ride! :D Thanks so much for the comments and kudos!


	22. Ignited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, this one gets a little sexy. Not TOO explicit, I think, but yeah. :) Let me know what ya think! THANK YOU! -- TMG

****

**Ignited**

\- - - - - - -

Grey morning light began to fill the lone window of Poe's room, though the gradual incline of daylight didn't wake him just yet. Curled on his side, forearm slid beneath a pillow, he slept on in peace: his forehead rested against the topmost plane of Rey's naked back, his free arm thrown over her hip.

Soon, the morning became impossible to ignore. In her sleep, Rey knit her eyebrows together impatiently, cracking open one eye to half-scowl at her surroundings. In a fog, she forgot her surroundings -- until --

Her eyes fluttered open completely. The landscape of the rumpled blankets came into focus: Poe's open palm resting on the mattress, his fingers curled toward the ceiling; the warm weight on her hip was his arm; the soft sound of breathing against her neck was him; and sometime in the night, she'd tucked her heels between his knees to keep warm.

With that, Rey turned her face into the pillow a lazy, sheepish sort of grin taking captive of her expression as their night together flooded into her mind's eye.

_I was thinking that I could stay the night._

Softly, with warmth in the back of his voice, Poe paused (as if he were considering it deeply) and answered, "You know, I think that's a really good idea, cap'n."

When they kissed, he took care to walk them deeper into the room. The back of Rey's knees met the bed. His hand pressed into the small of her back, and the back of her shoulders dropped softly into the mattress, their mouths pressed together, unyielding.

Rey felt electric, clumsy, terrified. Certain. It was not the first time she'd ever been with someone, but it was the first time she felt herself aching for it, her fingertips trembling as she undid his belt buckle. They drew clothing off one another softly -- Poe with much more confidence and expertise, tossing pieces over his shoulder, drawing down her legs.

"Go slowly," she breathed softly into his ear, a rare note of vulnerability catching in her voice.

Poe sloped his mouth down her sternum. Down the bare plane of her stomach. Too many seconds passed, and in a whisper, she corrected, "but not _that_ slowly," and against her abdomen he exhaled a laugh, a warm laugh ("yes, captain"), before instantly dipping his mouth southward.

The next few hours, minutes, seconds, were overtaken completely. Rey burned and burned -- her hand gripped his thick hair as he worshiped her between her legs, she exhaled shakily against his mouth, he groaned into the slope of her neck, her fingers gripped his shoulders in mercy as her body absorbed the force of his thrusts -- until together, they ignited.

At last, with sheen of light perspiration on her forehead, she lay back. Shakily, she held her hands around his neck, and kissed his mouth slowly, though the usual force behind it was replaced with exhaustion. Eyes half-lidded, hair tossed over his eyes, he grinned crookedly against her mouth, his forehead pressed against hers as he caught his breath, chest heaving.

Morning found them. Through the window, pale dawn was breaking, and a true pang of regret -- of longing -- touched her chest.

Leaning her temple into her hand, she allowed herself a minute to study the man half-asleep beside her. He slept like a lion, all spread out, taking up space. His hair was messier than usual, which caused her lips to twitch toward a smile as brushed it out of his forehead with her thumb.

"You talk in your sleep, you know," she greeted him softly.

Eyes closed, Poe scrunched his face with disbelief. "I do not."

"You were mumbling about how the fuel rig one the early models of the starcruiser outstrips all the rest."

"Well it does," he countered, and she snorted.

Cracking open his eyes tiredly, he offered her a grin, making lines appear at the corner of his mouth. Slipping his hand to the nape of her neck, he drew her in for a long, deep kiss, and as it began to unfold into something more heated -- lips locked, he drew her closer to come astride of him -- she demurred gently, drawing away, her nose nearly touching his.

"I need to go."

The light faded from his face.

"Ah. I know." A short, defeated breath jutted out of his lungs. "I take it Skywalker didn't lay out a timeline for uh, when you'll return."

"He didn't. I'm supposed to leave constructs like 'time' behind me." Then she added, "But I really don't want to talk about him while we're both undressed -- "

It was Poe's first -- and only -- laugh of the day.

\- - - - - - - 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left, y'all!


	23. Departure

**Departure**

\- - - - - - - - 

The base was in motion that morning, people streaming in every direction. Announcements flooded the lines.

_Cruisers preparing for test-flight departure._

_Deck officers, begin cross-checks._

"Commander," called Laro from the landing below, orange helmet under his arm. "Pursuit drills in 10?"

"I'll be right there," Poe called over his shoulder. "Start without me."

Then he swung his eyes back to Rey. They'd found some privacy beneath the Millenium Falcon -- Rey with her knapsack and staff, ready to depart -- but they simply took a moment to regard one another, stalling.

Poe muttered, "So I guess this is it -- "

"I have a confession." 

Rey slipped her hand into her pocket, and then held up something small, silver, and glinting.

"I stole this. From your room. This morning. While you were in the refresher."

It was one of his military medals. Shaped like a star, the hardware was inscribed with _Poe Dameron ... for bravery and valor in the field ... Distinguished military honors on behalf of General Organa._

Unsure if he felt flattered or alarmed by this confession, Poe snorted. "Knew I should have told you to get in the shower with me. Can I ask why?"

"I don't know," Rey admitted, squinting at him in the morning light with a smile on her face. "I think I just wanted something your name on it."

A grin unfolded over his scruffy face, tinged with sadness.

"Wow, you're a very honest thief. Keep it." Stepping closer, he curved her fingers closed over the medal. Her eyes dropped to stare at his collar bone; hours before, her fingertips had grazed it, as if mesmerized.

"Besides," he added earnestly, mischief in his eyes. "I have _so_ many others."

"Ha."

They exchanged mute smirks.

Like sand, his slowly eased off his face.

"This better not be the last time I see you," he warned suddenly, eyes narrowing. He had half a mind to remind Skywalker of this himself, except that Skywalker terrified him a bit.

"No -- it won't be," Rey pressed hurriedly. "I have this feeling -- " Eyes shining, she flashed him a look of wonder. "I have the strangest feeling about you. I think our story is a long one."

"I don't know what you mean by that."

"I don't either, yet."

In hastened silence, they regarded one another. Then, as if a silent, sad decision had been agreed upon, Poe drew closer, leaning in; Rey stepped toward him and lifted her heels; their lips brushed with some trepidation, before they melted into a familiar rhythm. It was a slow burn of a kiss, as if they had all the time in the world to stand together on the dock. His hand gently grasped the side of her face and Rey barely realized her fingers were clasping the edge of his flight jacket to keep him close.

Slowly, reluctantly, they slowed and parted lips, even as they held onto one another. Rey could feel his lips drag away from hers as she exhaled, eyes closed.

Finally, Poe eased away from their embrace, his expression dark and unreadable.

“Take care of yourself, alright?” he muttered, sliding his hand out from hers as he turned away. It made his chest ache to watch, but Poe did not blink as she walked up the ramp, shoulders straight and tall, and went out of sight.

For several minutes more Poe stood alone on the dock, leaning his palms on the railing behind him. The Millenium Falcon's afterburners sent plumes of air curling over the ground, and the wind tossed his hair over his eyes.

Tilting his head back, he watched as the ship lifted from the ground, disappearing into the morning sky.

\- - - - - - -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading. I had a blast writing it. Your comments are what keep me goin'. -- TMG :)


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